Soup the Comic Strip by Alun Clewe
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Comic strip for September 3 2023.
PANEL ONE: Close on the male adventurer we've been following. MAN: So, uh, DeVallon, you haven't seen anything matching the description of the Amulet of Ygraine around, by any chance? PANEL TWO: The man faces DeVallon. DEVALLON: And if I did have one of the most powerul artifacts in Taena here, do you really think I'd tell you about it? MAN: Maybe, if you were feeling really nice. PANEL THREE: The two adventurers face DeVallon. DEVALLON: All right, yes, I do have the Amulet of Ygraine. But that's not all. Let me tell you about the rest of my collection. WOMAN: You're not going to break into song, are you? DEVALLON: Uh, no. WOMAN: Good. Just checking. PANEL FOUR: DeVallon, squatting, motions toward a cauldron. DEVALLON: The Caldron of Amalgamation, fabled to be capable of commixing any objects, creatures, and perhaps even concepts, in fantastic combinations... PANEL FIVE: DeVallon holds up an ornate weapon. DEVALLON: The Mancatcher of the Silver Horde, bane of the armies of Titheria... PANEL SIX: DeVallon holds up a model tower. DEVALLON: ...The Miniature Tower of Klaar, with powers many and arcane. It holds more and greater secrets than almost any tower of more conventional dimensions... PANEL SEVEN: DeVallon holds up a red banner. DEVALLON: ...The Banner of hte Korgish Overlord... PANEL EIGHT: DeVallon holds up a golden box studded with jewels. DEVALLON: ...The Jewelled Box of Gel-Dhardha... PANEL NINE: DeVallon holds up a goblet. DEVALLON: ...The Goblet of the Starlit Land... PANEL TEN: He indicates a few other objects. DEVALLON: And some miscellaneous items... an orb of souls, a ring of lightning, a bell of prophecy, and so on. PANEL ELEVEN: Close on Devallon. DEVALLON: With all these tools, it should be a simple matter to... PANEL TWELVE: Extreme close-up on DeVallon as he looks off-panel. PANEL THIRTEEN: DeVallon regards a large pile the woman adventurer has made out of the objects he's been showing. DEVALLON: ...Apparently create a very unusual work of abstract sculpture. WOMAN: It's a gift.
September 3 2023

So this is another strip that I've modified slightly from the original version (aside from the lettering), in this case by adding something that wasn't there originally but which I'd wanted to be there. Specifically, the little drawings in the corners in the bottom row of the female adventurer walking away with some of the items. (She has a name, but it hasn't come up in the comic at this point.) When I first laid out this strip, I'd left those spaces with the intention of showing her carrying off items there, but then I ran out of time to actually draw her there. I figured for the reboot I'd finally put in the drawings I'd meant to be there way back when I first made this strip twenty-three years ago.

Ugh, I'm sorry about the "You're not going to break into song" line... yeah, that's kind of a corny gag. On the other hand, though, there are at least two upcoming strips where characters do break into song, so perhaps her worry isn't altogether unwarranted. (In both the strips in question, it's reasonable in context that the singing characters could have written and rehearsed the songs ahead of time, rather than just spontaneously breaking into song on the spot, but then I suppose it's just as feasible that DeVallon could have rehearsed a song about his collection in case any adventurers happened by he could gloat to. He didn't, though.)